Capturing The Moment
by MaiWad
Summary: Reunited after five long years of separation, two best friends Chloe and Max struggle to bond as the ghost of Rachel Amber remains lingering in their presence.


"Just one more," the brunette pleaded. She pouted her lip in faux desperation.

"You should be paying me for all these damn camera shots. It's like I'm your own personal model." The punk girl flicked the blue strands of hair out of her crystal blue eyes. She adjusted her position on the boulder to suit her comfort, though she remained in her hunched pose.

To Max's request, her legs were lazily spread and she glared into the camera lens. After a few seconds of endless waiting, she growled through gritted teeth, "Take the damn picture, Caulfield."

Max clicked the shutter button. The camera whirred and buzzed, then immediately printed out the picture. After giving it a few shakes, she stared closely at the image. She nodded her head in approval.

"Lemme see," demanded the older girl. She stood and seized the Polaroid out of her best friend's hand.

"Jeez, Chloe," Max said. "No need to snatch."

Chloe ignored her and snorted slightly, "Fuck, man! Look at my face! It looks like I'm gonna stab you with a knife any second."

"That's sort of the idea. You're this punk, I-don't-give-a-shit girl in this serene, peaceful environment. It embodies the presence of hate in the beauty of the world." Max had spent the past week or so brainstorming ideas for the Everyday Heroes contest. Since she was unconfident with her past work, she had decided to take her camera and go on a quest to capture the perfect photo. She decided that if her image had a deep meaning it would have more potential in the competition.

"Whoa, dude," Chloe stared at her in admiration. "That shit's too damn deep."

The gentle slightly chill breeze was calming. The sky was a big blend of yellows and oranges, while the bright sunset was partially peeking behind depths of shadowy clouds. The pair of them had been out for just under two hours. So far, they had done nothing but laze about, simply enjoying each other's company.

"Photography isn't just about pressing a button on a camera. Every picture has its own story."

"Oh, yeah? What about nude pics?"

Max couldn't conceal her smile. "The best nudes are composed in such a way that best annunciates the body. You know: shoulders back; chest out; lips pouted; a suggestive smile. That sort of thing."

Chloe's jaw fell in surprise. "Max Caulfield, you sure do know a lot about nudes."

The female photographer felt her face redden like a tomato. "It's nothing. I just know a lot about how to compose a good photograph."

"I bet you do. Who's the lucky guy who's been receiving photos of those sweet potatoes?" Chloe smirked and playfully digged her friend in the ribs.

Max's face was becoming crimson, and she laughed nervously. "I don't send any to anyone, I-I swear."

"Is it somebody I know? Nathan? Zachary?" She paused for dramatic effect. "Warren?"

Her constant pressing caused Max to roll her eyes. "Look, I haven't been sending pictures of my tatas to anybody. Now can we please end this vulgar discussion?"

"Ooh, someone's touchy today." Chloe sat back on the boulder, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. She put it between her lips and took a long drag. "Want a butt?"

"You know me, Chloe. I'm completely straight edge."

"Did Seattle take all the fun out of you? Or were you always this dull and uptight?"

Max rolled her eyes. Then, she took another quick snap of Chloe.

"Hey, I wasn't ready," snapped Chloe.

The camera buzzed and whirred again. "Sometimes the best pictures are when the model isn't posing at all. Like when they're in a stance that is relaxed and familiar to them." Max gazed at the printed picture.

Chloe's face was obscured by her hair and she was staring off into the distance dreamily while the cigarette smoke polluted the air from her mouth. Max thought it looked artistic, but hardly award-worthy.

"You sure do listen to those long ass Jefferson lectures."

"Mr. Jefferson is incredibly intellectual. I could listen to his lectures all day."

"Somebody's crushing hard on their teacher." Chloe smirked. Max shot her a solemn look. "I was kidding," Chloe spat. "What's got your panties in a twist?"

The younger girl tugged her hoodie closer to her chest. "It's nothing."

"Suit yourself, cold-ass." Chloe put her cigarette out. She then lay down upon the damp grass to gaze at the sky while exhaling melodramatically. "Don't you ever wish you could pick a moment and just, like, stay in it forever?"

Max knew exactly the moment. She sat upon the boulder and let her mind reel back. It was the summer of 2008. She and Chloe had spent the day picking blueberries in Chloe's back garden. Afterwards, the pair had retreated back to Chloe's room. There, they spent hours dancing to music, warbling along to the songs until their throats were dry. Back then, they were inseparable. They didn't need any other friends, since they were comfortable being alone together.

"I know just the moment," said Chloe. Max expected her moment to be the same, but she was almost pained when she began to speak again, "It was last Fall. Rachel and I had just been getting high in the woods. We were walking along together, laughing about some dumb inside joke we had about woodpeckers. Then, all of a sudden, it just started to rain. Not drizzling, but a motherfucking thunderstorm. It was so freakin' bizarre. We both shot each other a look then ran for shelter. I mean, we were in the fucking woods; there was no shelter, so we just kept running. She was a much faster runner than me, so she grabbed my hand, and together we scuttled along. Eventually, we stumbled upon this little cabin. Fuck knows who owned it, but we managed to shield ourselves from the rain under the patio roof. Breathless, we both stared at each other and just started laughing. The coincidental nature of discovering a secluded cabin during a storm baffled us. It was kinda like a movie, you know. Just one of those rare, perfect moments in life."

Max's breath became harsh and shallow. "Oh," was all that she could manage to say.

Chloe shook her head slightly. "I don't think anybody really understood Rachel. Not even me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, clearly I didn't mean as much to her as I thought I did. She left this shithole without me. When she first disappeared, I thought maybe- just maybe- she'd come back for me. You know, show up in the middle of night and whisk me away, or something. But, nothing." She released a shaky sigh. "Not even a goodbye."

Max felt the guilt eat away at her. Although it wasn't her fault that Rachel Amber had left, she still felt responsible for Chloe's loneliness. Maybe if Max hadn't moved away all those years ago, the two would have been even more inseparable as they were when they were kids. Now, while they had spent the day together, she remained detached from her former best friend. If only she had enough rewind power to change their past the better. "Chloe-"

"Just ignore me, I'm being depressing," Chloe waved it off. "Oh, everyone I love leaves me, oh I am so unloved, blah, blah, blah. Like, shut up, Chloe." She buried her face in her hands. For a second it seemed like she was about to cry, but instead she yelled furiously into her palms. "Fuck Rachel, man," she mumbled into her hands. Then, she stood and brushed down her jeans. "I need to let go of the past. Keep moving forward, and all that motivational shit."

"Are you okay?" was all Max could think to say.

"Yeah. I'm peachy," Chloe said sarcastically, clearly irritated. She rubbed her hands together, anxiously. "Over the past few months, Rachel is all that's been on my mind. But there are bigger fish to fry, you know? She's the one who left me, so why should I pine over her? She's not coming back for me. I can't keep telling myself that she still cares about me."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologise." For the first time since her return to Arcadia Bay, Chloe looked at Max without a shade of hurt or hatred in her eyes. Instead, she gazed at her the same way she looked at her when they were friends, with understanding and ease. It made Max feel young again. "It's Rachel who hurt me. Not you. You were always loyal to me, Max, before you left. I felt that I could trust you. But with the amount of secrets Rachel had up her sleeve, I don't think I truly knew her. She abandoned me, after all."

Max stood up and held her former best friend by the hand for comfort. "You don't know that Rachel abandoned you. Perhaps she had no choice but to skip town."

"And, what, she couldn't write to me?"

"You don't know what her situation is."

"I've been through every single possible scenario, Max!" Chloe snatched her hand away and glared at her. She had a venomous look in her eyes and she spat her words as if they were lethal. "She disappeared without a fucking trace. I mean, she always told me that when we left together, it would be immaculate. We would leave silently, and carefully. People would wonder where we were, but there would be no way of tracking us down due to how thorough the plan was. She told me that there would be no sign of evidence. And, voila, she has fulfilled her dream of getting out of here." She sniffed and scowled at the scenery beyond. "Lucky her."

"Why do you hate Arcadia Bay so much? I mean, sure, some of the people are assholes, but that's no different from any other place. Assholes are everywhere."

Chloe shook her head slightly. "You don't get it." She released a sigh. "Arcadia Bay holds a lot of good memories for me, which have been spoilt since. Life has fucked me over, and just being here reminds me of how shitty my life has been. When my dad died, it was like this beautiful town became my prison. I was trapped in a space with the same old empathising people who were persistently trying to comfort me. Every day was identical and I felt like I wasn't going anywhere. I thought that if I left with Rachel, the one good thing still left in my life, I could start afresh. But once again, life fucked me over, and here I am."

Max was dying to say that Chloe still had her, but she decided against it. She knew that she wasn't much support. "I don't want to bullshit you with the whole 'it gets better' speech. You deserve better than that, and looking at it, you deserve more than Rachel. You're right, you know. The only way to get out of the past is to look to the future."

"Says the girl with the rewind power."

"Believe me, if I could go back and tell Rachel to not skip town, I would. Everybody in this town seems to adore her, but I despise her for leaving you like that." Max took a deep breath to calm herself. The thought of Rachel hurting Chloe in such a spiteful way pained her. Considering how close she and Rachel seemed to be, it was likely that Chloe had opened up to her. In return, Rachel stabbed her in the back.

"I hate her, too," Something that resembled a smirk crept upon Chloe's face. "It's funny to say that out loud. I mean, I don't hate her, I love her." She paused for a second. "Loved her. But still, she left me. My Dad had no choice. You had no choice. She was the one I thought was in it for life, you know."

"Like… a soul mate?"

Chloe laughed. "You could say that."

Extravagant fusions of colours enhanced the sky. The breeze was now stronger, but the tranquillity lingered.

An idea sparked in Max's mind. She grabbed her camera and stood in front of the boulder. "I don't care if sunset pictures are a cliché. Sit down here."

Rolling her eyes at Max's enthusiasm for such an unoriginal photograph, Chloe did as she was told. She posed herself to mannerly stare off into the distance. Max then took several shots, circling the boulder to get every possible angle.

"Jeez, Max, don't waste your film on me," exclaimed Chloe.

"The best photographers take as many pictures as possible in order to snap that perfect image," said Max.

"Stop being such a dork," Chloe chuckled.

Max took a few snaps from behind Chloe, so the sunset was in full view. "It's true!"

"Oh, yeah? Here's what I think of your bullshit:" Without turning around, Chloe raised both of her hands and flipped the bird to her. "How's that for a picture?"

"Rad," cried Max. She pressed the button, then looked at printed image and was surprised to see how well it had turned out. The exposure from the sunlight seemed to make Chloe's figure glow. The contrasts between the middle fingers and the spiky blue hair in front of the enchanted sunset were perfect.

Chloe took a glimpse at the picture. "Badass. You know, you should teach me how to take a decent snap. Anything I take ends up a blurry mess. Hey, story of my life right there," she half-joked.

"Maybe," nodded Max. "Yeah, sure. I'd love to."

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 **A/N: Thank you for reading! Credit to** **NinjaQueen33 for checking over this chapter for me, it was a big help. :)**

 **I would appreciate it a lot that you share your opinion on this chapter by reviewing, as it helps me to see what your opinions are on my work. ;D**

 **Much love to you all, have a wonderful day/night!**


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